Former Team Indiabatter Manoj Tiwary has disclosed that ex-India opener Virender Sehwag sacrificed his place in Team India. In 2011, when the West Indies toured India for the five-match One-Day Internationals
(ODI), Tiwary smashed his maiden and only international ton against the Caribbean team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and helped India win the game comfortably by 34 runs. Tiwary also got the Player of the Match (POTM) award for his superb batting display. During the series, Sehwag was captaining the side in the absence of regular skipper MS Dhoni.
Manoj Tiwary, in a conversation with CricTracker, divulged that Sehwag backed him during the series. The opener also sacrificed his spot by giving himself a rest to help Tiwary get a place in the playing XI. "I've got backing from Virender Sehwag. I've always said that Viru paaji is one of the individuals who has really backed me. In fact, the century that has come in the West Indies game where I got Man of the Match. He's the one who sacrificed his place, and he took rest before the game. And everyone knows that in that series, where Sehwag scored a double-hundred. So he would have loved to continue and score more runs. But he's such a good human being that he was observing my career in the Indian team for so many years. So he must have felt a little injustice was happening to me," said Tiwary.
Virender Sehwag struck his double a match before Tiwary’s century
Before Manoj Tiwary’s maiden century, Virender Sehwag produced his only double ton against the Caribbean side in Indore. The veteran scored 219 off 149 and his knock was studded by 25 fours and seven maximums. Riding on Sehwag’s extraordinary batting display, the Men In Blue emerged victorious by 153 runs.
Under Sehwag’s captaincy, India won the ODI series by a 4-1 margin. Tiwary played only one game in the series and contributed with his 104-run innings. Tiwary played his last ODI game against Zimbabwe in Harare in May 2015.
